Imports of “Forever Chemicals” Exempt from Reporting Under EPA Proposal

The Environmental Protection Agency is accepting comments through Dec. 29 on a proposed rule that would narrow the scope of its regulations on reporting and recordkeeping requirements for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been in use since the 1940s and can be found in a wide array of industrial and consumer products. They are synthesized for many different uses, from firefighting foams, to coatings for clothes and furniture, to food contact substances, to the manufacture of other chemicals and products. They are used in a wide variety of products, including textiles, electronics, wires and cables, pipes, cooking and bakeware, sport articles, automotive products, toys, transportation equipment, and musical instruments, that may be imported into the U.S. as finished articles.

In October 2023 the EPA issued a rule requiring persons that manufacture (including import) or have manufactured these chemical substances in any year since Jan. 1, 2011, to submit information to the EPA regarding PFAS uses, production volumes, byproducts, disposal, exposures, and environmental or health effects. Reports were originally due from most manufacturers (including importers) by May 8, 2025, but the EPA has since postponed that date to April 13, 2026.

The EPA is now proposing to exempt the following from this reporting requirement to “maintain important reporting requirements on PFAS while exempting reporting on activities that manufacturers are least likely to know or reasonably determine.”

– PFAS in mixtures or products at concentrations of 0.1 percent or lower

– PFAS in imported articles

– PFAS manufactured as byproducts not used for commercial purposes, impurities, or non-isolated intermediates (substances manufactured and consumed within a closed system during the production of another chemical substance)

– PFAS manufactured (including imported) solely for research and development purposes

The EPA is also proposing to push back the report submission period so that it begins 60 days after the effective date of a final rule and lasts for three months. The separate reporting deadline for small manufacturers reporting exclusively as article importers would be eliminated due to the proposed exemption of PFAS in imported articles from the reporting requirement.